The Hidden Cost of AI: How Colorado Data Centers Impact Water & Power Rates
The short version: A Colorado photographer's documentary traces how thirsty cooling towers and 50 MW large-load tariffs are quietly reshaping Front Range water and power bills.
Our Take
Credit to Mark Courage for pointing a camera at something most of us only see on a utility bill line item. His documentary walks through the unglamorous mechanics of open-loop evaporative cooling versus closed-loop systems, and that distinction matters more than the industry likes to admit — one design choice can mean the difference between modest water use and hundreds of thousands of gallons a day disappearing during peak drought months, in a state that already fights over every acre-foot.
The Xcel Energy large-load tariff angle is the part worth watching closely. A 50 MW threshold sounds like a technical footnote, but it's really a fight over who eats the cost of building out substations, transmission, and generation to serve a handful of hyperscale campuses. When those cost-allocation formulas get written loosely, residential ratepayers end up subsidizing infrastructure they'll never directly benefit from — and those deals are usually cut behind closed doors, long before the public gets a say.
This is exactly the kind of local accountability reporting we want more of. If you're trying to figure out what's being built near you and who approved it, check our facility map, and if you want to push for real transparency on water and rate impacts, our take-action page has a place to start.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Mark Courage Documentary Photography, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.